- After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the company rule was brought to an end, but the British India along with princely states came under the direct rule of the British Crown.
- The Government of India Act 1858 created the office of Secretary of State for India in 1858 to oversee the affairs of India, which was advised by a new Council of India with 15 members (based in London).
- The existing Council of Four was formally renamed as the Council of Governor-General of India or Executive Council of India. The Council of India was later abolished by Government of India Act 1935.
- Following the adoption of the Government of India Act of 1858, the Governor-General representing the Crown became known as the Viceroy.
- The designation ‘Viceroy’, although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament.
- Although the Proclamation of 1858 announcing the assumption of the government of India by the Crown referred to Lord Canning as “first Viceroy and Governor-General”, none of the Warrants appointing his successors referred to them as ‘Viceroys’, and the title, which was frequently used in Warrants dealing with precedence and in public notifications, was one of ceremony used in connection with the state and social functions of the Sovereign’s representative.
- The Governor-General continued to be the sole representative of the Crown, and the Government of India continued to be vested in the appointments of Governor-General of India which were made by the British Crown upon the advice of Secretary of State for India.
List of Viceroys in India
| Viceroy | Tenure | Achievement & Events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Canning | 1858-1862 | Queen Victoria’s Proclamation (on 1 November 1858) and The Government of India Act, 1858 System of Budget was introduced Formation of Imperial Civil Services Indigo Revolt in Bengal in 1859–60 White mutiny by the European troops in 1859 Enactment of Indian Penal Code in 1860 Indian High Courts Act 1861 Indian Councils Act, 1861 Indian Civil Service Act, 1861 Police Act, 1861 Abolished doctrine of lapse Establishment of Archaeological Survey of India in 1861 Introduced Portfolio System which gave foundation for Cabinet System |
| Lord Elgin | 1862 – 1863 | Establishment of Calcutta High Court (2 July), Bombay High Court (14 August) and Madras High Court (15 August) in 1862 Wahabi movement suppressed |
| Lord Lawrence | 1864 – 1869 | Bhutan War (1864–65) (The British defeated an undefended Bhutan and annexed Assam and Bengal Duars) Establishment of Shimla as India’s summer capital in 1864 The Tabernacle of New Dispensation, a new Church established by Keshub Chandra Sen Establishment of Allahabad High Court in 1866 Famine Commission was constituted in 1867 under Henry Campbell due to Orissa famine of 1866 Tenancy Act was passed in Punjab and Oudh in 1868 |
| Lord Mayo | 1869 – 1872 | Assassinated by a Pathan Sher Ali Afridi in 1872 Started the Census in India in 1872 Opening of Rajkumar college in Rajkot and Mayo College at Ajmer for political training of Indian Princes Keshub Chandra Sen establishes Indian Reform Association (1870) Started Financial decentralization in 1870 (Financial Distribution between centre and state introduced for the first time) Enacted IPC amendment-Sedition Act 1870 to tackle Wahabi Movement He established the Department of Agriculture & Commerce in 1872 Established Statistical Survey of India in 1872 |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872 – 1876 | Jyotiba Phule launches The Satyashodhak Samaj in Maharashtra in 1873 against the caste system and Untouchability. Dramatic Performances Act, 1876 He suppressed Kuka rebellion in Punjab led by Ram Singh in 1872 Trial of Gaekwad of Baroda in 1874 Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1875) Prince of Wales Edward VII visited India in 1875 Civil Marriage and Arya Samaj marriage introduced Universal Marriage Act introduced in 1872 Intercaste Marriage allowed He resigned in 1876, being asked by the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to make a treaty with Emir of Afghanistan Sher Ali Khan |
| Lord Lytton | 1876 – 1880 | Royal Titles Act, 1876 by which Queen Victoria assumed the title of ‘Empress of India’ 1st Delhi Durbar (out of 3) in 1877 Great Famine of 1876–1878 and a Famine Commission was constituted under Richard Strachey in 1878 Vernacular Press Act, 1878 Arms Act, 1878 Decreased the maximum age of appearing in civil services from 21 to 19 Second Anglo-Afghan War, (1878–80) Treaty of Gandamak signed in 1879 |
| Lord Ripon | 1880 – 1884 | First Factory Act (1881) Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act in 1882 Ilbert Bill (1883) Establishment of Panjab University in 1882 Government resolution on local self-government (1882) Appointment of Education Commission under Sir William Wilson Hunter in 1882 First complete Census in India in 1881 He passed Famine codes in 1883 Increased the maximum age of appearing in civil services from 18 to 21 |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884 – 1888 | Formation of Indian National Congress (1885) Bengal Tenancy Act (1885) Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885) In 1886, Burma was made a province of India, with Rangoon as its capital |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888 – 1894 | Age of Consent Act, 1891 was passed to prohibit the marriages of girl child under the age of 12 Indian Council Act 1892 Second Factory Act 1891 Setting up of Durand Commission in 1893 (India-Afghanistan) |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894 – 1899 | Indian famine of 1896–1897 Spread of Bubonic plague in Bombay (1896) Establishment of Ramakrishna Mission by Swami Vivekananda at Belur Math in 1897 Assassination of two British officials (Walter Charles Rand and Ayerst) by the Chapekar brothers in 1897 |
| Lord Curzon | 1899 – 1905 | Indian famine of 1899–1900 (MacDonnell Commission was constituted under the presidency of Sir Anthony MacDonnell) Munda (Ulgulan) rebellion led by Birsa Munda in 1899–1900 Department of Agriculture was constituted in 1901 Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa in Bihar was established in 1905 Partition of Bengal (1905) Appointment of Raleigh University Commission (1902) (Indian Universities Act, 1904 was passed as per the recommendation of this commission) Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 Official Secrets Act 1904 to curb free press Second Delhi Durbar (out of 3) in 1903 Appointment of Police Commission under Sir Andrew Frazer in 1902 Creation of North-West Frontier Province in 1901 Swadeshi Movement (1905–1911) against Partition of Bengal by Lal Bal Pal-Aurbindo Ghosh) Benaras Hindu Girls School (Kanya Vidyalaya) was established by Annie Besant in 1904 Younghusband expedition to Tibet under Francis Younghusband in 1903–04 |
| Lord Minto II | 1905 – 1910 | Morley–Minto reforms 1909, or the Indian Councils Act 1909 Split in Congress in 1907 (in Surat session) Satyendra Prasanna Sinha became first Indian member to be appointed in Viceroy’s Executive Council Seditious meetings (prohibition) Act 1907 to curb the extremist movement Establishment of Muslim League by Aga Khan III and Khwaja Salimullah (Nawab of Dhaka) in 1906 Foundation of Jugantar revolutionary group in Bengal (1906) Indian Press Act, 1910 Jamsetji Tata established TISCO in 1907 foundation stone of ‘Victoria Memorial’ laid in 1906 Newspapers Act 1908 |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910 – 1916 | Third Delhi Durbar (1911) Annulment of Partition of Bengal by King George V in 1911 Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911) Partition of Bengal to form Bihar and Orissa province (1912) World War I (1914–18) Komagata Maru incident (1914) McMahon border line was created between India and China in 1914 Ghadar Mutiny (1915) Mahatma Gandhi came back to India from South Africa in 1915 Foundation of Hindu Mahasabha by Madan Mohan Malviya (1915) Foundation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916 |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916 – 1921 | Formation of Indian Home Rule movement by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant (1916) First Women’s University (SNDT Women’s University) at Pune was founded by Dhondo Keshav Karve (1916) Lucknow Pact (1916) (between Indian National Congress and Muslim League) Champaran Satyagraha (1917), the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India August Declaration, 1917 Saddler University Commission or Calcutta Commission (1917) Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (1919) Government of India Act 1919 Rowlatt Act (1919) Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919) Khilafat Movement (1919–20) (later merged with Non-cooperation movement in 1920) Non-cooperation movement (1920–22) Foundation of Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 Imperial Bank of India (now State Bank of India established in 1921) |
| Lord Reading | 1921 – 1926 | Malabar rebellion (also known as Moplah Rebellion), first Ethnic Rebellion (1921) Rabindranath Tagore founded Visva-Bharati University in 1921 Chauri Chaura incident (1922) and withdrawal of Non-cooperation movement by Mahatma Gandhi Formation of Swaraj Party in 1923 Appointment of Lee Commission in 1923 on public services reforms Railway budget was separated from general budget since 1924 (this tradition continued till 2016) Kakori train robbery in 1925 Foundation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh by K. B. Hedgewar in 1925 Foundation of the Communist Party of India in Kanpur in 1925 Annulment of Indian Press Act of 1910 and Rowlatt Act of 1919 |
| Lord Irwin | 1926 – 1931 | Simon Commission (1928) Nehru Report (1928) Death of Lala Lajpat Rai (1928) Fourteen Points of Jinnah (1929) Purna Swaraj declaration (1929) Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929) Bombing in Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt “Deepavali Declaration” on 31 October 1929 (to grant India dominion status in due course) Appointment of “Hartog Committee” (1929) to survey the growth of education in British India Launching of Civil disobedience movement with Salt March (1930) Dharasana Satyagraha (1930) First Round Table Conferences (1930) Allahabad Address by Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1930) Chittagong armoury raid in 1930 Gandhi–Irwin Pact (1931) Execution of Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar (1931) |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931 – 1936 | Second Round Table Conference (1931) Announcement of Communal Award by Ramsay MacDonald (1932) Poona Pact between Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar in 1932 Third Round Table Conference (1932) Pakistan Declaration (1933) Foundation of Congress Socialist Party in 1934 Government of India Act 1935 Formation of All India Kisan Sabha in 1936 Reserve Bank of India established by passing The Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936 – 1943 | Indian provincial elections (1937) Indian entry into World War II (1939) Day of Deliverance (1939) Formation of All India Forward Bloc (1939) Lahore Resolution (1940) August Offer (1940) Cripps Mission (1942) Formation of Indian Legion (1942) Quit India Movement (1942) Formation of Indian National Army (1942) Great Bengal famine (1943) |
| Lord Wavell | 1943 – 1947 | C. R. formula (1944) Simla Conference (1945) (The Wavell Plan was first presented at the Shimla Conference in 1945.) WW II ended (1945) Indian National Army (INA) trials in 1945-1946 Cabinet Mission (1946) Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) Interim Government was formed in 1946 Royal Indian Navy mutiny (1946) |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947-48 | Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed on 18 July 1947. Radclife Commission was appointed under the chairmanship of Cyril Radcliffe to demarcate the border line of Bengal Presidency and Punjab Province |
Governor General of India Post-Independence, are as follows:
| Name | Term | Notable events during their Tenure |
| Mountbatten | 1947-1948 | First Governor-General of Independent India |
| C Rajagopalachari | 1948-1950 | Last Governor-General of India, before the office was permanently abolished in 1950 |